Scientology's toxic policy of 'disconnection' - we check in with the people who endure it - 2018-05-12

More than a year ago, in January 2017, we wrote a story about Bernie Headley that got us pretty worked up. Here was a man who was fighting cancer and was being prevented from seeing his own daughter, Stephanie, by the Church of Scientology.

We've written about Scientology's toxic policy of "disconnection" for many years — it's Scientology's horrific form of extortion that is central to the way it rules its membership through fear. Specifically, the fear of being separated from loved ones. Because Bernie is attached to his son, Marc Headley, a former Scientologist and member of the Sea Org who is an outspoken critic of the church, he can never again see his daughter, who remains in the church.

After that story was published, on February 4 last year, we started a new feature which now appears at the end of every story we do here at the Underground Bunker. We made a list of people we've written stories about who are being kept from loved ones by Scientology's policy of disconnection, and we keep track of how many days it has been since they saw their son or daughter or mother or father that has been taken away from them.